Collier School District Unanimously Approves Controversial Elementary Math Books
NAPLES, Fla. — On Monday, after much debate over Collier County’s textbooks, the district school board unanimously approved eight math textbooks to have K-5 ready for the classroom.
This follows back and forth on state standards such as critical race theory, LGBTQ+ issues and social-emotional learning, which was the focus of Monday’s public hearing.
Opponents have said questions asked in math textbooks like,
- “In what ways can you connect with your classmates?”
- “What behaviors show that you respect your classmates?” »
…have no value when it comes to teaching children math and another speaker said that these are valuable questions but should be asked separately and not during a maths lesson.
On Monday, the Collier County school representative repeated how Florida’s law requiring students to “self-monitor” allows them to answer questions separately and creates meaningful conversations.
While saying that social-emotional learning is not the same and does not require students to discuss their own personal issues.
Board Member Erick Carter added perspective at the end of the hearing.
He spoke about school shootings, saying we (the public) always wonder why the student who fired the gun was ignored for so long.
Carter went on to say that he thinks these types of questions will help educators in Collier County identify students who may be struggling and help them.
